My wife is the GM at a small manufacturing shop. One of her top employees has been going through rough a patch in terms of his personal life. Custody issues with his baby mama, lost his license last year, sleeping on a friend's couch, car not working, etc.
He approached her asking for OT to help get out of his hole. Not only did she clear him for unlimited OT, but she also called our family lawyer to look at his case and put a plan together. In the past month, she sat down with the guy and spelled out what he needed to do in the custody case, they scheduled an appointment at the DMV to get his license re-instated (and she drove him during the work day without having him clock out), helped him find an apartment and gave his end-of-year bonus early so he had the first, last, & security, and then got his car to a local mechanic that will allow him to pay in installments.
This is one of her best employees and his productivity has gone through the roof.
People can hit hard times and sometimes need help. Every employer should take reasonable actions to be that help because it will be paid back 10 fold.